--- title: Slackware Reviews meta_title: 'Slackware Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 33 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Slackware works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.4 review_count: 33 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-06-24' parent_category: name: IT Infrastructure url: https://www.g2.com/categories/it-infrastructure --- # Slackware Reviews **Vendor:** Slackware **Category:** [Operating Systems](https://www.g2.com/categories/operating-system) **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 33 ## About Slackware Slackware is a longstanding Linux distribution renowned for its simplicity, stability, and adherence to Unix-like principles. Developed by Patrick Volkerding in 1993, it is the oldest actively maintained Linux distribution. Slackware offers a comprehensive operating system suitable for various applications, from desktop workstations to server environments. Key Features and Functionality: - Simplicity and Stability: Slackware emphasizes a straightforward design, minimizing unnecessary modifications to upstream software to ensure a stable and reliable system. - Comprehensive Software Selection: It includes a wide array of software packages, such as the X Window System, development tools, networking utilities, and popular desktop environments like KDE and Xfce. - Flexible Package Management: Slackware utilizes a simple package management system that allows users to install, upgrade, and remove software packages without automatic dependency resolution, granting greater control over the system. - Manual Configuration: The distribution relies on plain text configuration files and shell scripts, enabling users to fine-tune their systems according to specific requirements. Primary Value and User Solutions: Slackware's primary value lies in providing a clean, stable, and flexible Linux environment that closely mirrors traditional Unix systems. It caters to users who prefer manual configuration and a deep understanding of their operating system, making it ideal for advanced users, system administrators, and those seeking a customizable and dependable platform. By avoiding unnecessary modifications and automation, Slackware empowers users with full control over their systems, ensuring a tailored computing experience. ## Slackware Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users admire the **stability** of Slackware, enjoying its reliability and compatibility with various software packages. (2 reviews) - Users value the **knowledgeable and helpful community support** of Slackware, making troubleshooting and assistance easy. (1 reviews) - Users value the **stability and compatibility** of Slackware, appreciating its minimal bugs and reliable software support. (1 reviews) - Users praise Slackware for its **straightforwardness and stability** , offering a no-nonsense Linux experience backed by a helpful community. (1 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users often face **installation issues** due to manual dependencies and outdated documentation, complicating the setup process. (2 reviews) - Users note the **steep learning curve** for configuring Slackware, often requiring manual setups and building from source. (1 reviews) - Users express concern over the **lack of support** , noting outdated documentation and a manual installation process. (1 reviews) - Users find the **package manager outdated** , which can hinder the overall user experience and convenience. (1 reviews) - Users report facing **software dependency challenges** , which can hinder installation for those unfamiliar with Linux systems. (1 reviews) - Usage Difficulty (1 reviews) ## Slackware Reviews ### 1. Exceptionally Stable and Reliable Distro **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rabindra K. | Network Security Administrator, Computer & Network Security, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 08, 2025 **What do you like best about Slackware?** As a user of slackware distro I find it very stable and compatible with most of the software packages i have been using, unlike other OS there are few bugs and stable releases that are the best thing i like about Slackware. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Sometime you get stuck with some of the software issue as their dependency should be install manually and if you are not familiar with it then you might get stuck with package installation part. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** With my experience I can say that it hash helped me to uplift my knowledge in Linux based OS as it has some of the simple and reliable environment which helped me to do manual configuration and scripts that helped me to sharpen my Linux foundation skills as well. ### 2. A Blast from the Past, Still Rocking Today **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Idongesit S. | English Teacher, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Honestly, I think Slackware's biggest strength is its straightforwardness - it's a no-nonsense Linux distro that gets the job done without any fuss. I also appreciate how stable it is, and the community is really knowledgeable and helpful. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** To be honest, I find the documentation a bit lacking, and the package manager can be a bit outdated compared to some other distros. Also, the installation process can be pretty manual, which might not be ideal for beginners. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Slackware's solving the problem of overly complex Linux distros, you know? It's giving me a lightweight, stable, and customizable system that I can really control. It's benefiting me by letting me focus on what I need to do, without all the bloat and unnecessary features getting in the way. Plus, it's teaching me a lot about Linux fundamentals! ### 3. Rock-Solid and Proven—It Just Works **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Slavik K. | Consultant, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 20, 2026 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Stable and backed by a long history, it’s not experimental—it just works. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Occasionally, the program lacks updates, and hardware support is limited—especially for more exotic devices. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Main operating system driver. ### 4. Slackware Linux Experience **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Networking | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 03, 2021 **What do you like best about Slackware?** It is easy to configure. It is suitable for new user to linux. It is suitable for academy use. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** There is not include a new package manager like APT. There is not new version of slackware linux available about 5 years ago. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** To release a new version of slackware, **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use slackware to ip routing. I also use for a web server with php, mysql and apache. ### 5. A more automated and user friendly experience **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Shivi S. | Product Specialist, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 08, 2025 **What do you like best about Slackware?** It's best if a person value a "do it yourself " approach. It serve in any capacity from desktop workstation to machine room server. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** You have to learn to configure quite a lot thing by hand and you will probably have to learn to build programs from source at some point. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Slackware aim is to design stability and simplicity. A person should give one chance to it. It provides security in higher level. It neutrality as it does not depend on a package manager so a person enjoys much more. Installs only what you want to unnecessarily things are not there so provides best speed and run fast. ### 6. Amazing low Weight Distro **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Nitin G. | Principal Engineer, Medical Devices, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 29, 2023 **What do you like best about Slackware?** A lightweight OS with fully customizable libraries can be tweaked as needed. A good amount of documentation helps developers to design their code accordingly. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Lack of support from forums sometimes, and no dedicated entperise version which can helps the willing customers to get the additional on-call support and customization as needed. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** A lightweight Operating system helps deploy the same in many Aerospace and Medical applications. Other competitors' OS is pretty vast and challenging to customize, which is possible in Slakcware. It helps deliver a fast and custom product with minimal resources and efficient processing. ### 7. Slackware: Review **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Dhriti S. | Engineer-II, Software Development, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 12, 2023 **What do you like best about Slackware?** The Slackware is extremely user friendly, anybody with basic or no knowledge can use it. The reboot of the installer is really fast. It follows its motto " Keep it simple " to the best. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** The initial setup requires assistance. When there is heavy loading it gets crashed a lot. So the developers might have come up with loads of enhancements or updates. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Only the initial setup is tiresome. Once the setup is done it runs smoothly. It has been consistent in establishing a connection between server and desktop. And mainly helps in mapping the network of various devices. ### 8. My Slackware Review **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Telecommunications | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 15, 2021 **What do you like best about Slackware?** The installer for Slackware is very simple, clear, and works well even with the most basic display/monitor. There were no screen resolution issues or incorrectly displayed text. The system is quite stable and booted pretty quickly. I love the custom console fonts! **What do you dislike about Slackware?** The setup required a fair bit of "hand holding" and may pose an issue for persons who are relatively new. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** The setup can be a little daunting. However, documentation is easy to lay a finger on (www.google.com). It definitely helps if you are aware of disks and partitioning. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Slackware has helped to solve the need for a name resolution server, DNS, for an internal network. The NMS required the function of mapping network device names to IP addresses. ### 9. Simple Software design processing **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 06, 2022 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Slackware is easy to use for any user, in any organization just about and is excellent for increasing experience level with the use of this platform to perform higher functioning processes. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Slackware often crashes and, due to that reason, needs frequent updates to constantly stay up to date, which is a plus as well. Users can choose installs in any way they prefer, which is also beneficial. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Slackware creates a server and a desktop, appealing to the consumer and valuable to organizations. Many other operating systems do not allow this benefit of choice like Slackware does to remain consistent. ### 10. Real Linux distro either for home or business use. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Zenón M. | System administrator, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 27, 2021 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Simplicity, everything is under your control, one of the fewer systemd free distributions, real school to master Linux. Stability, rock solid, had almost no downtime. You can choose what to install, from a very basic (but complete) server with only ssh access, to a full fledged system with all the bells and whistles. It's a 100% hands on distribution. Learned a ton just being using it, and still using it, there's something new to learn every day. Slackware motto is "Keep it Simple", and everything goes accordingly to that motto. Performance wise, it runs in a variety of hardware, from a humble ARM based Raspberry Pi, to a top of line desktop or laptop. What I like the most, is the fact that all my data belongs to me, there's no cloud connectivity to anyone, unless you add it. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** The only downside (not for me anyway), everything is manual,there are no fancy graphical interfaces for everything, you have to use the console, package and dependency management is not perfect, but does the job. Sometimes, you will have to build your own packages from source, track and fulfill any dependency. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** Hopefully, you have a good knowledge of Linux and bsd init style layout before switching to Slackware. Be ready to read, a lot (strongly recommend "The Revised Slackware Book Project" and "Slackware Linux Essentials") Man pages are your friend. The console is your friend, learn to use it. Forget about fancy graphical interfaces for configuration purposes. Be ready to build your own packages from source. Be ready to build your own custom kernel. Get to know your hardware, you will need this to determine how to make it work (ie, what kernel module to load, or build and install if not available out of the box). **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Solved all needs (file sharing, instant messaging, dns, email, proxy and web server) Once installed and configured, runs smoothly, almost setup and forget (unless something critical arises). ### 11. Slackware maybe is not for everyone. It just works. **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Dmitri R. | Senior Linux Platform Software Developer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 19, 2021 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Slackware is simple, flexible and extremely customizable. Slackware encourages Linux-way attitude and KISS principle. It does not require high end hardware and can be installed in very restrictive environments. Slackware is very stable and gives the user full control. Most packages are available in "slackbuild" form - the programs can be installed by compiling in place, thus providing the best compatibility with the system. It is very light on system resources. A minimalistic setup can run on very old hardware, so there is no need of constantly upgrading the workstation. This is probably the only Linux distribution that can be run straight out of the box. The uptime is measured in years and only limited by hardware endurance. The installation is very fast, usually it takes only 10-15 minutes in order to have a fully working system. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** It takes a while to setup if there are some unusual tools required. However this is very minor and for a seasoned Slackware user this is not a problem. The learning curve is quite steep. However once you learn Slackware, you actually learn Linux (which does not work that way at all with the mainstream distros) It takes a while to setup if there are some unusual tools required. However this is very minor and for a seasoned Slackware user this is not a problem. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** Slackware is for those who: 1. Need a distro that just works 2. Prefer to start working straight away 3. Okay with initial learning 4. Know (or want to know) their way around Linux **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use it mostly for system, microcontroller and kernel development. No-frills setup allows a fully focused work, not being interrupted by system updates, annoying pop-ups and unexplained stalls. Slackware is designed primarily for developers, all the base tools are included with the default installation. The kernel supplied with the system is unmodified which makes upgrades easier and protects from too clever "optimisations" found in other distributions. Slackware by default is very accessible, with all communication tools preinstalled: ssh, telnet, nfs, rsync, etc. This is a perfect platform for working remotely. I use Slackware on ARM due to it's simplicity, small footprint and stability. it is very convenient to run and update on an embedded system. It is easy to port between devices, since the Slackware's main principles usually stay the same. Slackware includes many software packages. I use LaTeX to produce documentation, Gimp and ImageMagik to edit pictures, vim to edit source code and gcc to build software projects. ### 12. Slackware is the best DIY for Linux out there **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Orlando M. | Chief Information Security Officer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 18, 2021 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Slack configuration of all the layers of security and audit. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** The first time its kinda hard to know how to do several configurations. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** Ok, so the first time its going to be the hardest one; the key to success is to keep in mind that customization could be hard if you do not know what do you need and what do you want to do, so map these things first and after you have completed a mind map of this, you can start to review packages, installations, and configurations. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Slack its outs internal security first option for the company. ### 13. It was an awesome distribution, but since there is no support and no updates it is very old OS **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Services | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 25, 2021 **What do you like best about Slackware?** It was most stable OS for my services - mysql, apache + php, mIRC servers, perl scripts. I started learning linux with this distro (2005 - 10/10.1 version). Currently I still have 4 servers which are running wonderful - there are no downs since they were installed. I have servers with these versions: - 12.1 - 14.2 - 13.37 **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Back then (2005-2010) I remember how hard was with manually configure each service you want to install. The main thing I currently dislike about Slackware is that they stopped supporting this amazing distro. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** Wait for new release... **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** The problems which slackware solves are mostly - stable and fast OS. This is the main benefit we got at 2021. Other distros ubuntu,debian,centos are not so stable as slacwkare in our opinion. ### 14. Excellent distribution **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Massimo Z. | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 10, 2021 **What do you like best about Slackware?** I started using linux in 1992 with yggdrasil, after a short time I switched to Slackware 1.0 in 1993. I immediately appreciated the simplicity and efficiency, as well as bsd style init scripts. From 1993 until today I use this distribution for my workstation and my laptop, with docker and all the tools that allow me to manage all my clients' workloads. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Several packages need to be compiled, but there is still slackbuilds.org which contains a large number of references **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Efficient and robust installations, with large uptime ... ( sometimes years ... ) ### 15. The fastest and oldest breed of Linux **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Răzvan T. C. | Psychologist, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 17, 2021 **What do you like best about Slackware?** I have been using Slackware since 1999. It runs extremely well on older hardware due to Pat's iron fist hold on the distribution. GCC compiles fas, the packages are from the "stable" branch and everything is thoroughly tested before release. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Slackware is ideal if you want something "pure" to run on your server but the repositories are small and you HAVE TO compile stuff if you want stuff on it. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** I can fine-tune the distro to fit my needs but it does take time to do so. ### 16. A streamlined OS for Linux nerds **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Semiconductors | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 18, 2021 **What do you like best about Slackware?** It provides the optimized performance with the minimal number of packages. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** It's a pity that no newer version is available now. The deployment of slackware needs some Linux background. The learning curve may not be smooth. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** I'd like to see a newer version rolling out. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** For EDA tool and scientific calculations ### 17. Good for learning and for the community, but there are new, more "trendy" alternatives **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Alan S. | Senior Software Engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 25, 2021 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Good for learning and for the community. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** More difficult than others. And there are new, more "trendy" alternatives **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** A milestone but there are alternatives nowadays **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Management of the BE server of a local newspaper website, then replaced with another architecture/OS ### 18. Slackware is my first linux distro. **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Education Management | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 20, 2021 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Slackware is modular and light. No heavy hardware needed to run fully functioning linux box. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Time consumption to learn from A to Z likely needed to implement Slackware. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Hardware limitation is the biggest problem in our country, thus we need a modular and light OS in order to make system run. ### 19. Can communicate well with the team. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Consumer Services | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 01, 2021 **What do you like best about Slackware?** You can easily reach out with workmates/ colleagues. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** None so far. I can easily can communicate well with the team. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** Will recommend it to my next company. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Team huddles, inputs, insights. Its is always announced via slackware. ### 20. Slackware : The most stable and powerful Linux on the Planet **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Syafril R. | Post Sales - System Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 12, 2020 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Details, stability, powerful, cover all linux basic, fully documented, helpful community, one of the recommended linux distro for first starter, customization availability, easy to learn, opensource, one of the most old linux distribution that still exist, support for the universal driver, from old till new, compatibility with most of hardware exist, in one word for slackware is : Complete ! **What do you dislike about Slackware?** its not easy to learn slackware for beginners without knowing the basic, so you need to focus to read the manual and learn every single details from the documentation to get close to slackware, if you get the point you will love it, let the time guide you to used for it **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** if you want to have slackware, first rule is you must read all the basic of using it, on my experience firstime i learned i was stuck in the console, since all i know the OS is all about GUI, so i start to learn how to have GUI on my OS, but it takes time since im not cheating on the google to ask " how to start GUI on the linux console", but after i fread the documentation i found out that you just need to type "startx" to start the gui, and you can have the various type of gui, just you need to installed it first on your system before you have it. in simple words, it was adventurous to learn slackware for beginner, but its fun and worthed. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** i used slackware since 10th version, for the first i dont know a lot about shell script and networking feature, after i learned it, slackware covers all the need for regular OS need, from scripting, multimedia to office it works, and more of that i can use slackware to play games without LAG that i found when i play it with the commercial OS in the same PC, i learned a lot about kernel and configure the kernel based on my hardware spec, so i can get the optimum hardware function without having resource hunger like the commercial OS did. overall Slackware cover all you need from an Operation System. ### 21. Slackware is a Linux OS which can actually help you to learn the bash, scripting, and solve issues. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** George K. | System Administration, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 27, 2020 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Is the perfect OS for learning Linux OS.. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** It does not have any GUI to do the installation. So if you are not experience Linux before, you have to follow the documentation line by line **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** All kinds of problem. I realized how easy is to modify the kernel and have your own kernel. ### 22. Take it if you can bite it **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Olle L. | Python Team Lead, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 26, 2019 **What do you like best about Slackware?** I cannot be precise at pointing out at something specific because the whole system is made as good as it is possible. It is flexible, it has a great community, it has a bunch of packages and it teaches you to be better in administration and still think before typing. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** It is time-consuming to set up the system you want :D But still I'd rather spend some time installing/making packages to have a solid and reliable working station. Though I had a problems with xfce window manager (does it count?) **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** I tried not that many distributives (around 5-6) but ended up with Slackware for its stability, documentation and community. You can make your system be anything you like but you need to know what you're doing. Btw, Slackware team, thank you for your great impressive work! :) **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** I used to have Slackware as my working station since university time, so all programs I've developed, all applications I used to have for listening to music, reading docs, working with graphics I had to learn how to install, make it work. Then at work, we had couple of servers with this distributive and to me, it was much easier to set up apache, virtual hosts, DB settings because by that time I knew the os structure. I control the system and no one else, that's what I realized and along with that you have to understand you are responsible for every step you do, so it would be better to read/learn a bit before diving into a slackware ocean. ### 23. Daily driver and server OS **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Stanislav A. | CEO, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Best thing about Slackware is the stability - install once and forget. Stable or current is beside the point. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Less repos then other OSes. Some niche software needs to be compiled from source. And some - you just can't get. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** If you install ubuntu, you will know ubuntu. If you install Arch, you will know Arch. If you install Slackware, you will know Linux. It's not the user friendlest os ... but I will not change it if possible. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Building servers due to the long term stability. Daily driver due to current branch which gets current software update. ### 24. Its as good as anything else on the market **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Gambling & Casinos | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 29, 2020 **What do you like best about Slackware?** It works well across devices and seems to sync well **What do you dislike about Slackware?** It has little to offer of its competitors **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** Check out 365 and Teams. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Reduced communications tools and costs. It did not deliver. ### 25. Not trivial, but extremely reliable **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Slackware?** I've been using Slackware from high school and that is already for 18 years and still surprised how reliable Slackware is. I have systems with incredible uptime running Slackware. Moreover, Slackware does not come throwing you all the preinstalled unneeded software or asking million times - Do you REALLY want to avoid installing this? **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Configuring Slackware is not trivial and it does sometimes lack support for one or another hardware or feature, but eventually it is added. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** Try it before saying no and if you run into some problem - do not lay hands down. Trust me - it's worth it. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Slackware gives more control over machine than other more user friendly distributions and that is a great benefit when one needs to press everything out from hardware. ### 26. Used slack from previous employments **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Catherine T. | Fba, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 27, 2019 **What do you like best about Slackware?** This is much easier to understand and use. User-friendly software. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Nothing much. I like them in future use. Just use slack in your future business **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** A must try and keep software **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** You can talk to ur boss easily. Can document all the info needed. Its serves as ur notepad and office all at once. Very useful ### 27. Slackware Storage & DHCP server **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Igor M. | VMware Enterprise | Linux Engineer, Computer Software, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 01, 2019 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Unix-like philosophy, very high security, speed, straight forward, doc pages, stability **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Missing of some needed packages, which are included in Ubuntu, CentOS etc. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** Learning Linux and Unix, of course! Consider the best option - learn Slackware! **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Problems in low security, organization. Better security, easier administration. ### 28. Slackware is stable and fully configurable OS **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Furniture | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 26, 2019 **What do you like best about Slackware?** I used Slackware as Internet gateway, firewall, web server and this OS in all situations was trable-free, do his job flawlessly. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** In all situations I installed softwares from sources, as I didn't know automated software installer (like Suse) **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Now I use Slackware as web-server and DB-server in one box. Also I realised in this server some scripts in bash, which downloads and parses information every day. ### 29. Better understanding of linux fundamental and OS components **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospital & Health Care | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 29, 2019 **What do you like best about Slackware?** The capability and freedom to change and configure and anything and everything with your OS and the potential for learning deeply of each components in Slackware as your OS **What do you dislike about Slackware?** being isolated from mainstream linux (debian and redhat based) making installation and implementation for big application such as Corosync, Pacemaker, DRBD making it hard to configure **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** lightweight OS on low end database server ### 30. The best learning distro **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Slackware?** I started out with Slackware, to its core it Still rings true - you learn red hat you Learn red hat, you learn suse you Learn suse - if you learn Slackware you learn linux **What do you dislike about Slackware?** The only thing really lacking is a good package management system **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** Learning and development ### 31. Great distrobution, love JR "Bob" Dobbs **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Gabriel Y. | Software Engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 19, 2019 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Simplicity, good user community, lots of platforms supported. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Can be difficult to use, some packages harder to install than others. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** Give it a shot - can be more intimidating than other distro's like Debian but worth the extra work. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** We used it as a lightweight Windows replacement at a small non profit - we had donated hardware but it was older and didn't want to spend money on legit Windows software that would have run slowly anyway. ### 32. Used Slackware circa 1993-1996 **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Stephen G. L. | Chief Dogcatcher, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 14, 2018 **What do you like best about Slackware?** Slackware is an ancient distribution for Linux. I haven't used it lately, so have no credibility on how it lives today. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Difficulty of keeping the OS plus all installed software current with each others' versions. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** Try a more modern Linux distribution. I use Ubuntu. Haven't looked much into alternatives, lately, since I have a very stable machine. Up 4 days without need of reboot. That is new, for me, and I feel - important. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** All problems, business and otherwise, that a great OS is capable of solving. I got to know Linux/UNIX and other free UNIX-like-OS based software. ### 33. Slackware enable me manually manage my system package. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Adenike O. | Information Technology Specialist, Information Technology and Services, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 25, 2018 **What do you like best about Slackware?** STABILITY - For every new release ,Slackware has been able to include the stable versions of all included software programs. This ensures that save for the mandatory security and bug fixes, users get to compile and install the latest versions of their preferred software themselves. SIMPLICITY - Slackware is amongst the now very few Linux distributions still offering users a simple , configurable system . I love how I am able to edit plain text configuration files on my Slack. PRIVACY - We are in the era of cloud integrations. However , Slackware does not offer cloud integration ,ensuring I am not sharing my personal data with software firms. **What do you dislike about Slackware?** Slackware does not currently provide me with automatic dependency resolution and this will probably be the case for some time to come.Also in order for me to install add-on software with Slackware , I have to search and install additional dependencies by myself ,manually. **Recommendations to others considering Slackware:** I endorse Slackware for server based functions. Basically I see Slackware as secure ,rock-solid and simple and these are properties I appreciate from a server installation. **What problems is Slackware solving and how is that benefiting you?** I currently make use of Slackware on my workstation at my office ; operating a LAMP stack for development and system administration purposes. I never experience downtime and for the few occasions I encountered any downtime ; it was due to power cut. ## Slackware Discussions - [Is Slackware a good distro?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-slackware-a-good-distro) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [what is the best way to have OS selection Startup with slackware on the list ?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-the-best-way-to-have-os-selection-startup-with-slackware-on-the-list) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [Why Slackware?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/why-slackware) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [Is Slackware still relevant 2020?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-slackware-still-relevant-2020) - 1 comment - [View Slackware pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/slackware/reviews?qs=pros-and-cons§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-06-27+02%3A57%3A10+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=4fc441ef-9b56-46c5-b142-ab85a1ac4ab5&secure%5Btoken%5D=5f6edf0a099a04dbad98b76d653cd57f300dbe356b9e16dcf656f3662c5ccef5&format=llm_user) ## Slackware Integrations - [Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/red-hat-ansible-automation-platform/reviews) ## Slackware Features **Memory Management - Operating System** - RAM management **Device Management - Operating System** - I/O management **Backup and Recovery - Operating System** - Data backup **Error Detection - Operating System** - System operations monitoring ## Top Slackware Alternatives - [Debian](https://www.g2.com/products/debian/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (219 reviews) - [Gentoo](https://www.g2.com/products/gentoo/reviews) - 4.1/5.0 (37 reviews) - [CentOS](https://www.g2.com/products/centos/reviews) - 4.4/5.0 (409 reviews)